Pete Wilson

Pete Wilson (23 August 1933-) was a member of the US Senate from California (R) from 3 January 1983 to 7 January 1991 (succeeding S.I. Hayakawa and preceding John F. Seymour), and Governor of California from 7 January 1991 from 7 January 1991 to 4 January 1999 (succeeding George Deukmejian and preceding Gray Davis).

Biography
Pete Wilson was born in Lake Forest, Illinois on 23 August 1933, and he graduated from Yale University and UC Berkeley School of Law. He served in the US Marine Corps from 1955 to 1958, and he moved to San Diego, California in 1963. Wilson became a lawyer in California, and he became involved with Republican Party politics while living in San Diego. From 1967 to 1971, he served in the State Assembly from California's 76th district 3 January 1967 to 7 January 1971 (succeeding Clair Burgener and preceding Bob Wilson) before serving as Mayor of San Diego from 6 December 1971 to 3 January 1983 (succeeding Francis Earl Curran and preceding Bill Cleator). In 1982, he replaced the retiring S.I. Hayakawa as Senator, and he held moderate-to-liberal views on social issues and fiscal conservative views. Wilson supported the establishment of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the restriction of federal highway funds for states that did not raise the minimum wage for drinking to 21, and the granting of reparations to formerly-interned Japanese-Americans.

In 1990, he was elected Governor of California to succeed George Deukmejian, and he oversaw economic recovery in California. Market-based, unsubsidized health coverage was made available for employees of small businesses, and he raised the sales tax to reduce the state deficit (including taxing newspapers, snack foods, car license fees, and college tuition), raised the income tax on the top bracket, enforced child support laws, vetoed a bill that would have prevented employmental discrimination against LGBT people, deregulated the state's energy market, banned smoking in the majority of state buildings, and reduced infrastructure spending (hindering or delaying highway expansion/improvement projects and abandoning other maintenance and construction projects). Wilson also signed a three-strikes law, supported term limits, and sought to prevent illegal immigrants from using social services. In 1996, he announced his candidacy for President of the United States, but he became the first candidate to exit from the Republican primary. He worked for several businesses after leaving the gubernatorial office, and chaired Arnold Schwarzenegger's successful 2003 gubernatorial campaign.